Dear Members of the Campus Community,

Yesterday, someone created a Facebook page designed to intimidate students who attended the Black Student Solidarity Rally on the Quad. Along with many of you, we immediately reached out to Facebook and asked for the page to be removed. Within three hours, the site was down. Additional versions of the site have been created and subsequently removed. We will continue to voice our concern to Facebook, if the site resurfaces.

That anyone on our campus would think it’s appropriate to create such a site is extremely disturbing. We recognize the right to free speech, and we encourage you to exercise that right when you see examples of racism, discrimination or intimidation on our campus.

The site called for monitoring African American students, and some students are telling us they now feel unsafe. We must have a safe environment for everyone – where people can gather and express concerns without fear; where we can build understanding by truly listening to each other; and where we can benefit from the ideas, talents and perspectives of everyone in our Illinois community.

We are committed to working harder to build a culture of respect and community.

Barbara Wilson
Interim Chancellor

Edward Feser
Interim Provost

Renee Romano
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs